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Hector "Macho" Camacho shows off his flamboyant costume as Roberto Duran, left, watches during a 1996 news conference to announce one of their fights. Camacho, who died last week, defeated Duran twice in his career.
(Photo by Associated Press)

That’s how Hector “Macho” Camacho lived his life, surrounded by the trappings of success and excess. It ended after 50 years last week when an intruder sent a slug screaming through his head as he and a friend sat in a car in his native Puerto Rico.

Cocaine was found in the car. It was nothing new for the flamboyant fighter to be around the high life as he had been involved with substance abuse over the years.

What a sad waste for a guy who was not as bad as it may sound, more of a wild child always looking in a lot of wrong places.

Like him or detest him, Camacho was always one of the ring’s most colorful characters, using his self-imposed machismo to make sure tickets were sold to friends and foes alike.

Among his losses were efforts against Oscar De La Hoya, Felix Trinidad and Julio Cesar Chavez. He went against the proverbial who’s who of boxing and was never stopped during his career, frustrating all those paying to see him finally get his butt kicked.

This corner’s first encounter with Camacho was most revealing. Undefeated at 33-0 and playing his cocky, villainous role to the max, Camacho was his obnoxious self through all the buildup for his bout against Ray Mancini, who was making a comeback in Reno, Nev., on March 6, 1989. But even all Camacho’s outlandish verbiage could not help him make the 140-pound limit.

Knowing he could not get under at the appointed time, his handlers came up with all sorts of excuses to delay getting on the scale. When Camacho did, at 4 a.m., Cleveland time, the day of the fight, he did not have a stitch of clothing on as he flashed at the gawkers and beamed his success at finally making 140 pounds — forcing Mancini to stay up and wait as well. Someone had the good sense to finally put a towel in front of him.

Infuriating Mancini’s partisans to this day, Camacho danced his way out of Boom Boom’s pursuit all night and still came away with the split decision. He’s probably still laughing about it all.

Around the ring: In the running for fight of the year, Roberto Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KOs) remained World Boxing Council interim welterweight champ with a bruising unanimous decision against former champion Andre Berto (28-2, 22 KOs) on Saturday in Ontario, Calif. The men dished out tons of punishment. Berto was dropped twice in the early rounds and both had eyes nearly closed at the finish. Guerrero won by scores of 116-112. . . . Fighting for the first time in more than three years, welterweight Ricky Hatton (45-3, 32 KOs) was taken down in surprising fashion as former World Boxing Association 147-pound champion Vyacheslav Senchenko (34-1, 23 KOs) finished him off with a body shot to end it at 2:52 of the ninth round on Saturday in Manchester, England. Hatton, who was in front on all three scorecards, announced his retirement afterward. . . . HBO continues its buildup to the Dec. 8 showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez with its “24/7 Pacquiao/Marquez 4” series. Pacquiao holds a 2-0-1 lead as they meet for the fourth time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. It will be on HBO PPV.

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